


April Fools!

by Violet112358



Category: The Ever Afters Series - Shelby Bach
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet112358/pseuds/Violet112358
Summary: "He loved April Fool’s jokes. He’d also tied my shoelaces to my desk in English, stolen Lena’s textbook in math, unplugged all the computers in the computer lab, and cast a glamour over our chemistry experiment, turning the sulfur bright blue. Our teacher had a hard time trying to explain that one.”—Of Sorcery and Snow, Shelby Bach
Relationships: Lena LaMarelle/Kyle Zipes, Rory Landon/Chase Turnleaf
Kudos: 13





	1. Look who showed up

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic so I would love any feedback and suggestions on how to improve my writing. Thanks!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase's POV
> 
> Chase overslept... again.

“Crap, crap, crap!” I half ran, half flew through my empty apartment, carryall in hand. I grabbed my sword, which I stashed in the front pocket that Lena designed for easy access, and threw my school stuff and skateboard into the largest pocket. Of all the days to oversleep!! I’d be lucky if I get to school by the time the final bell rings. See, I spent most of the afternoon yesterday training with Rory, and I stayed up late trying to finish my homework after she went home. And no, I was not doing my homework because I wanted to, but because Lena said I had to. I ended up falling asleep at the table- it’s not my fault that math is so boring! I only woke up a couple of minutes ago because Rory messaged me and I had left my M3 on the table next to me.

I grabbed my sneakers and laced them up as I waited for my wings to disappear. When they finally did, I swung my bag over my shoulder, grabbed my M3, and ran to the courtyard. I headed straight to the Table of Plenty, which was covered with muffins and an assortment of fruit. I helped myself to a banana and a couple of chocolate muffins. I stuffed the food into my bag, mentally kicking myself for oversleeping.

I sprinted to the training court next. I had to sign up for the duel with Hansel this afternoon. The sign-up sheet was posted outside, and I wrote Rory’s name on it right above mine. She’s been looking forward to kicking Hansel’s butt ever since her first sword lesson, and she’s got a pretty good shot. If anyone would be able to beat Hansel, it would be me or her.

I checked my watch. I had five minutes to make it to school. I knew I could make it, but it would be a close call. As I ran down the hallway to the ruby door, I reached into my bag, grabbed my skateboard, and dropped it to the ground. I just started skateboarding a couple of months ago, but I’ve managed to impress a bunch of the guys at school because I can jump really high and do awesome tricks. It’s nice to have the attention. I spend most of my time with Rory and Lena; they’re my two closest friends, but they’re girls. The ruby door leads to an abandoned building a few blocks away from our school, Lawton Academy for the Gifted. It was a cloudy morning but it wasn’t raining, thank goodness. I skated down the street, and I suddenly remembered what day it was. April 1st! I started to grin as I approached the school. I stuffed my skateboard into my carryall, climbed the stairs three at a time, and sprinted to my homeroom. I slid into my desk approximately 10 seconds before the bell rang. Whew, that was a close one.

“Look who showed up,” said Rory, smirking.

“Oh, shut up,” I said, reaching into my bag for my breakfast. But even my close call this morning couldn’t ruin my good mood. I started devising a plan to pull as many pranks as possible without getting caught. And, of course, my prime targets were Rory and Lena. What are friends for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short, I know. Don't worry, they get longer as the story progresses.
> 
> Originally posted to the spoiler board at Shelbybach.com


	2. You will need to remind him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena's POV
> 
> Rory and Lena discuss the upcoming dance, and Chase says he doesn't dance very well. Liar.

“Where’s Chase?” I asked, looking around. Rory and I were sitting on the bench where the three of us met before school every day. “He should be here by now.”

“He’s probably just running late. I wouldn’t be too worried,” Rory replied.  
“I say if he’s not here in 5 minutes, we leave without him,” I said.

“Agreed.” A few moments of silence followed.

“So… the EAS dance is coming up soon. Know what you’re going to wear?”

“Flats,” Rory said. “You couldn’t catch me dead in a pair of heels!”

“Well, I happen to think heels are great. I’ve already picked mine out, want to see a picture?”

“Sure!”

I reached into my pocket for my M3. At the same time, Rory flipped hers open. There was a sticky note on the inside cover of hers. I recognized Rapunzel’s elegant handwriting immediately. ‘You will need to remind him. He will forget this morning.’ Oh. Chase probably forgot to set his alarm last night.  
Rory must have come to the same conclusion as I did. “I got it,” said Rory, sending a message to Chase’s M3. “If he’s not awake yet, he will be now.”  
“Okay, we should probably leave. He’ll make it to school eventually, and we don’t want to get caught in the rain!” I said.

“It’s not raining, Lena, it’s just overcast! So tell me why you’re wearing a raincoat and rain boots?”

“It’s good to be prepared,” I answered, jutting my lip out. Rory laughed. “Plus, the forecast said there’s a chance of rain later today.” We continued to chat as we walked to school and climbed the stairs out front. I carefully folded all of my rain gear and put it into my locker. We then walked into homeroom, where Rory and I sat down in adjacent desks, talking as we waited for other students to show up. We discussed my new inventions, Rory’s duel, and the upcoming EAS dance, among other things.

At the last second, Chase skidded into the room, sweating and out of breath. Rory and I turned to him at the same time. “Look who showed up,” Rory said teasingly.

“Oh, shut up,” Chase said, and he sat down behind Rory and reached into his carryall for… food? He probably didn’t eat breakfast yet.

“So, you forgot to set your alarm last night?” Rory asked.

“Actually, I was up late doing homework because you told me I had to,” Chase said, gesturing to me. True. If I didn’t constantly remind him to do his schoolwork, it would never get done. “The only reason I got here on time is because Rory’s M3 message woke me up! How’d you know to message me?”

“Rapunzel left me a note.”

“That makes sense.” He nodded and started peeling the wrapper off his first muffin.

“So Chase, are you excited for the dance?” I asked him.

“Nah,” he said, mouth full of food. “I’m not very good at dancing. Besides, I’d rather be training.”

After a while, the topic of our conversation had shifted to Rory’s next move. 

“Five bucks says she’ll move within the next month!” Chase said.

“Chase! We are NOT betting on when I’ll move again!!”

“Fine. Anyways… do you guys know what day it is?” he asked.

“Uhhh, Wednesday?“ I guessed.

“No!” Rory said. “I mean, technically, yes, but more importantly, it’s the day I finally get the chance to kick Hansel’s butt!”

Chase just nodded absentmindedly.

By the time the teacher had finished taking attendance, Chase had finished his breakfast. “Be right back,” he said, grabbing his trash. “Gotta throw this away.”  
He returned to his seat quietly. I watched him slide under his desk, reach forward, and quickly untie Rory’s shoelaces. He silently slid back into his seat. I looked back at him and we made eye contact. He shook his head, an indication to not let Rory know what he was up to.

OH. MY. GUMDROPS. It was April 1st! How did I miss that? The guy loves pulling pranks! In that moment, I decided to let Chase continue undisturbed, solely because I wanted to see what Rory’s reaction would be. I slowly nodded at him, indicating that I wouldn’t spill. A few minutes and a couple of close calls later, Chase had finally finished tying Rory’s shoelaces to her desk. He was smirking, and I just rolled my eyes at him.

The bell rang. Rory tried to stand up, but she fell forward onto her desk. She immediately turned to Chase. “Chase! What’d you do that for?” He burst out laughing, and I couldn’t help repressing a smile. “And Lena! You knew about this?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny,” I said, bending down to free her shoes from the desk. Once Rory had tied her shoes properly, the three of us walked out of the classroom and into the busy hallway. Out of nowhere, Rory stuck her foot out and tripped Chase. He stumbled forward a couple of steps but didn’t fall.

“Really, Rory? Not cool,” he said, and we all laughed. “Though I’ll admit, I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did!” Rory replied.


	3. What is it with you and making bets?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory's POV
> 
> Rory and Chase team up to prank an unsuspecting Lena.

I have to admit, I didn’t remember that it was April Fool’s Day. Because of that, Chase pulled an epic prank on me by tying my shoelaces to the desk. So what did I do in response? I stuck my foot out and tripped him in the hallway. I know, it was childish. But c’mon, he deserved it.

Despite that little incident in the hallway, we made it to English class on time. The lesson itself was quite boring, and to be honest, I don’t remember much of it. Something about writing a persuasive essay, maybe? I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention. I had more important things to think about, like my duel this afternoon and the fact that I could be pranked again at any second. Chase was uncharacteristically silent during the entire lesson. Weird. Either he decided to give up on pranking us, or he was planning something much bigger for later in the day. I was so deep in thought that I barely noticed when the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

“So, do you guys know what you’re going to write your essays about?” Lena asked as we walked out of the classroom and into the busy hallway. 

“I don’t know,” I said, and Chase shook his head.

“Well, you guys have to figure it out soon! The rough draft is due Monday, and I don’t want you two to write your entire essays the night before! Remember what happened last time?”

“Yes, I do. But my 3AM, caffeine-fueled writing session worked, didn’t it?” I retorted. 

“I guess. But you probably could’ve done better quality work.”

“Last time… hmmm… Didn’t we write persuasive essays a couple of schools back?” Chase asked.

“Yeah,” Lena said hesitantly. 

“So, here’s the thing, Lena. We’ve already written persuasive essays this year. I don’t see why we can’t just turn in the same one here. We’ve already done all the work.”

“But that’s cheating,” Lena said. 

“The teacher won’t know,” Chase said, and I just shrugged. 

“Yeah. I'd rather spend my time training. Why do the extra work if I don’t have to?” I said, and Chase gave me a high five. Lena just shook her head, mumbling under her breath.

Our next class was math. That lesson, too, passed without incident. At the end of the lesson, the teacher gave us our assignment and told us to use the remaining class time as work time. We all, somewhat reluctantly, reached into our bags for our textbooks. A minute later, Lena asked to go to the bathroom. “Rory, she’s gone.” Chase whispered when she had left. “Let’s steal her textbook.”

So he didn’t give up on pranking us. He was just waiting for the right moment to strike. “Okay…” I said. “But won’t she notice?”

“She probably will. But it’s fun to see how long it’ll take.” He reached over to Lena’s desk and grabbed the book. 

“Ah. How long do you think it’ll take for her to notice?” I asked, putting my hand out for the book. 

“At least 2 minutes.” He passed the book to me.

“Nope,” I said, putting the book into my backpack and zipping it up. “It’ll be a minute, tops.”

“Wanna bet?” 

“No! What is it with you and making bets?” He just rolled his eyes. 

“Maybe we should hide our own textbooks too, just so she doesn’t see anything out of place.” I said. 

“Good idea.” We both put our books into our own backpacks. 

Not thirty seconds later, Lena returned. “Oh my gumdrops, I hate it when people skip class and hang out with their friends in the bathroom. It’s so gross in there, and they really ought to be-” She slowly looked from Chase, to me, to her own desk. Recognition sparked in her eyes. “You guys! Give it back!”

“39 seconds. Dang it,” Chase said. I smirked, pulled the book out of my backpack, and handed it back to Lena.

“That was actually quite tame compared to what Chase did to you in homeroom,” said Lena, turning to me. 

“I know! I need more ideas!” Chase looked at me and Lena expectantly. 

“How about this,” I said. “We could team up and work together.”

Chase didn’t even hesitate. “Yes! I’m in!”

“Me too, just as long as we don’t do anything that would get us in trouble.” Lena said.

“No promises,” Chase said, grinning.

“This is going to be fun!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to the spoiler board at Shelbybach.com


	4. Lena, you're a genius!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase's POV
> 
> Lena, pranking someone? Is this actually happening?

“Lena, did I hear you correctly? You want to help us prank people? That’s so… out of character.” Rory rolled her eyes at my pun. “But you’re such a rule follower.”

“Well, I can’t miss out on all the fun, can I? It’ll be fine as long as we don’t get in trouble. Plus, I am the magician.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take the blame if we get caught.” I said.”

“Me too.” Rory and I fist-bumped.

The bell rang, and the three of us grabbed our stuff and started walking to our next class, American History. Just before we got to the room, we all walked faster and faster until we were almost running. See, our favorite spot in the room is the back left corner. The desks are arranged in sets of two, so it’s always a battle for which of us will get the seats in the very back and who will have to sit in the seat of shame. It gets quite intense. Rory has pushed me off the chair before. This time, Rory and Lena got to those desks just a split second before I did. I sighed and dropped my backpack on the floor, accepting my defeat. 

The classroom lights were off and the projector was on, so I figured we were probably going to watch a video. The bell rang and a substitute teacher walked in. He was really old. He took attendance and tried to get the video to work, though I highly doubt he had ever used a computer before. He couldn’t figure it out, so he gave us a free period to do whatever we wanted as long as it wasn’t loud or disruptive. 

“Are you guys going to work on your math homework?” Lena asked. Of course she’d use the time to do homework, like the responsible student she is.

“Nope” I said. Rory yawned, which made me yawn. Which made me realize how tired I was. “I’m gonna take a nap. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Good idea. Me too.” said Rory.

“My gumdrops, if one of you doesn’t turn out to be a Sleeping Beauty…” Rory poked her in the arm, stopping her mid-sentence.

“You know how much I hate my name.” 

I rested my head on my arms and promptly fell asleep. It seemed like no time had passed when the bell rang, jarring me awake. “Happy Birthday..?” I mumbled, still half asleep. 

“Wake up, you two! We can’t be late for gym class!” I opened my eyes to see Lena shaking Rory awake. 

Once Rory was awake and alert, we headed down to the gym. I went to the locker room to change into gym clothes. Man, that place stinks. Once we all had changed and stretched, the coach went into his office for his speaker. He typically plays music when we run laps around the gym. 

“Everyone, start running!” He pressed play, but instead of the pop music he usually plays, Baby Shark started blaring. There were a variety of reactions, including laughing, covering ears, and dancing and singing along. After a quick glance around the room, I noticed that Rory was standing next to Lena, who was holding her M3 and grinning. She slipped it into her pocket, proud of her accomplishment. 

“Lena! Nice one!” I walked over to her and gave her a high-five. 

“Thanks,” she said, blushing. “It was a simple spell, really.” I noticed that she, along with a handful of other students, was watching the coach to see how he’d react. Surprisingly, he started dancing and singing along! We all cracked up. 

After the song had finished and we had run our laps, the coach said “Alright guys, listen up. We’re going to play dodgeball today. Line up, and I’ll number you off. 1, 2, 1, 2…” I love dodgeball. Rory says I cheat, but I say I'm just using my natural-born gifts, such as incredible reflexes and dodging abilities. The time seemed to pass faster than normal, and before I knew it, the game was over. Everyone went to the locker rooms to change back into their normal clothes. 

Then, it was my favorite part of the day: Lunchtime. Rory and I went to join the lunch line. When we had finally gotten our trays and paid for our meals, we met Lena at our table. 

“Lena! I’m so proud of you!” I said. She beamed. 

“What’s our next prank going to be?” Rory asked. “Any ideas?”

“Well, our next class is in the computer lab.” I said. “We could do something there to mess up the computers, like shutting them all down.” 

Rory shook her head. “I don’t think that would work. It would take too long.”

“Maybe we could just unplug them all. It wouldn’t cause too much trouble and it could be easily fixed.” Lena suggested.

“Lena, you’re a genius!” Rory gave Lena an approving look. 

“Yeah, that’s a great idea! It would be really funny to see how people try to fix the computers.”

After a couple more minutes of planning and pizza eating, we had formulated a plan. Lena would talk to the teacher who was on lunch duty and distract her. I would go to the computer lab and unplug everything. Rory would be on lookout and alert me if anyone was coming. 

“There’s just one problem. What if the door is locked?” Lena asked. Well, there’s this thing I can do called a Fey unlocking spell. Locked doors are no problem for me. Unfortunately, Lena did not know about that ability of mine. 

“It’ll be fine. I can take care of it. I’m good with locks.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

Rory, Lena and I each got up, threw our trash away, and took our places. Once I got the signal from Rory, I snuck down the hallway to the computer lab. There, I tried to open the door. Locked, but not for long. A couple of seconds and a Fey spell later, I twisted the doorknob. 

I’m in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to the spoiler board at Shelbybach.com


	5. Chase. You idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rory's POV
> 
> Chase is taking risks with his magic, and Lena is figuring out his secret.

I watched Chase walk down the hallway, turn the corner, and disappear. It was all up to him now.

I went back to the lunch table, and Lena, seeing that my job was done, finished her conversation and joined me. Chase returned about five minutes later, just before lunch ended. He gave no indication that we were up to no good, aside from the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Everything went as planned, yes?” Lena asked.

“You’ll see.”

The bell rang, dismissing us from the cafeteria. The three of us decided to take an alternate route to the computer lab. That way, we wouldn’t be the first ones there, and we’d avoid any suspicion. When we entered the computer lab, we were met with complete chaos. Students were pressing keys randomly, clicking their mouses over and over again, and even yelling at computers to work. The three of us burst out laughing.

The teacher stood at the front of the room, trying to get a hold on the class. “Class, calm down!! We’ll get it figured out.” By ‘we’, she meant the school’s technology expert. Within two minutes, he had diagnosed the problem.

“Nothing is plugged in. Without power, none of the computers will work,” he told the teacher.

“That’s it? I thought there was some sort of bigger problem here.”

“Nope. The number one rule of IT is to make sure the computers are plugged in and powered on.”

I grinned. Lena’s plan had worked perfectly. Eventually, all the computers were plugged back in and functioning properly, and the rest of the class was rather uneventful.

Our next class was Spanish. It’s mandatory for all students, but it’s ridiculously easy thanks to Lena’s gumdrop translators. Even Lena, who is such a rule-follower, has no problem with using them for class.

Our second-to-last class of the day was Chemistry. We had been learning about chemical reactions so the teacher had planned to do experiments in class to demonstrate the different types. Once class had started, she went to her closet and grabbed containers of all of the chemicals she needed: iron, magnesium, sulfur, and some others that I couldn’t read the labels of.

We all gathered around her demonstration table at the front of the room, and watched as she did an experiment using magnesium. “Students! For this next reaction, I want you to write down your observations from using your five senses.” I was standing near the back of the group so I didn’t have a clear view of what happened, but I could smell it. Sulfur. It reminds me of when I went to Yellowstone and threw a rock at a dragon. Fun times.

I stood on my tiptoes, trying to see. The sulfur was gradually turning… blue? That couldn’t be right. I looked at the teacher, but she was as confused as any of the students as to what had happened. “Maybe some kind of reaction with another chemical from the storage cabinet…? Maybe the lab equipment wasn’t completely clean…? Are you guys seeing this?” she asked.  
I heard a chorus of replies. 

“Yeah!”

“That’s so weird.”

“How did that happen?”

“I don’t think that’s the color it’s supposed to be."

“Was there some kind of unexpected reaction?”

“It’s like magic!”

Seeing things. Weird things. Unnatural colors. Unexplainable. Magic.

Chase.

You idiot.

The teacher tried to regain our attention. “Please return to your seats while I figure this out.”

I stayed back a second until Lena was out of earshot. Then, I kicked the back of Chase’s leg. “Are you trying to get caught?” I whispered.

He looked worried. “Did I take it too far?”

“In terms of the rest of the class, no. They don’t know about magic. They’ll forget about it in a couple of days. But Lena’s smart. She’s probably putting all the pieces together. Just tell her, ok? It’ll be much better for all of us.”

“No. You know I can’t.”

“Well, you know I can’t either, thanks to that binding oath you made me swear. So be ready for any questions she may ask.”

We returned to our desks, prepared to be bombarded by questions from Lena. Instead, she was quiet, like she was trying to reason through what happened and why. A few moments later, she turned to face me. “How do you think that happened? Based on the smell, it was still sulfur. But the color changed, which means that it must’ve gone through some kind of reaction. What do you guys think?” She looked at Chase and me expectantly. Chase just shrugged and looked away. “What about you, Rory? Any ideas?” Before I could respond, the teacher spoke to the class again.

“Class! Since we were unable to complete all of the experiments today, we’ll move on to plan B.” She grabbed a pile of worksheets and handed them out. “We would’ve done these tomorrow, but if we work on them today, we can retry the experiments tomorrow. You are free to use the rest of class to complete it.”

“I’ll grab worksheets for you two,” said Chase, clearly trying to escape the conversation.

“Thanks,” Lena and I said in unison.

Lena caught my eye and looked pointedly at Chase, whose back was turned. “It was him, right?” I stayed silent. “You know, don’t you? Tell me how he did it! Was it some kind of magic? A spell? A glamour?” The binding oath made my face smooth out, giving no indication that she’d gotten it right.

“You can’t tell me. Why not?”

“Lena, I-” I was cut off by Chase’s return, three papers in hand.

“You guys better do it,” Lena said as Chase handed us the worksheets. ‘There’s 20 minutes left in class. That’s plenty of time to get it done. Also, you don’t want to worry about it after the duel.”

“Fair enough,” I said. Chase rolled his eyes but he, too, started filling it out. As it turned out, Lena was right. I finished the last problem on my worksheet just before class was over. Then, it was everyone’s least favorite part of the day: study hall.

I don’t know whose idea it was to give everyone a mandatory 30-minute study hall at the end of the day. Most of us use it to socialize or mess around. Lena, not surprisingly, finished all of her homework. It makes sense, in a way. Less time spent working on homework after school means more time for inventing things. Chase and I spent the time talking about the duel. The most important part of a fight is to not lose your head. If I wanted to beat Hansel, I would have to be focused. In fact, I was so focused thinking about the duel that I barely noticed that the final bell rang.

“Let’s go!! I’ve got a duel to get to!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to the spoiler board at Shelbybach.com


	6. Those aren't dogs...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena's POV
> 
> School is out for the day. Rory and Chase have a duel to get to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later in this chapter, my story lines up with the events of chapter 1 of OSAS. Most of the dialogue is straight from the book-I just used a different point of view and added some details of my own.

Chase used a glamour in chemistry class. I don’t know exactly how he did it, but I have a theory: he has Fey blood. I’ve suspected it for a long time- for about as long as I’ve been coming to EAS. I've done my research about the subject. His last name, Turnleaf, is given to a Fey who left the Fey world to live as a human. If there was a Turnleaf in his family tree, the last name would’ve been passed on. That, and the fact he speaks Fey, even before I invented the gumdrop translators… He must’ve learned the language somewhere. Maybe the Turnleaf taught it to him. 

My bet is that the Turnleaf is on his mother’s side of the family. Jack hates the Fey and wants nothing to do with them, and I’ve never met his mother. It wouldn't be unusual if he had some magical blood in him; in fact, most characters aren’t completely human. I’m not. Madame Benne, my ancestor, was half human, a quarter Fey, and a quarter mermaid. But that was so many generations ago, it almost doesn’t make a difference. I’m a magician, but I don’t have any of her type of magic. The more generations away a person is from the original magic-user, the weaker their abilities tend to be. But, glamours are one of the hardest kinds of Fey magic. So, I think the Turnleaf must be pretty close in Chase’s ancestry for him to be able to use a glamour. 

During study hall, Chase and Rory discussed last-minute duel tactics. I completed my homework, but my mind was elsewhere. I had so many questions for Chase. And Rory, too. I’m pretty sure she knows about his Fey heritage, but she hasn’t told me anything. That’s okay. Chase will tell us when he’s ready. For now, I’m going to do all the research I can about the most recent Turnleafs. 

A bunch of students got out of their seats and crowded around the door. That usually meant the school day was nearing an end. I slid my textbook, notebooks, and folders back into my carryall and zipped it up. I really had to remember to clean it out. It was a bit of a mess.

The bell rang and everyone filed out the door. Rory and Chase headed straight outside, but I took a detour. I had to go to my locker and get my rain gear. I swapped my sneakers for rain boots and pulled on my raincoat. Then, I went to the front door and pushed it open. “Ready! I—Oh, hold on. I forgot my umbrella.” I turned around, opened the door again, and ducked back inside. 

I sprinted back to my locker, mentally kicking myself. My umbrella was still in my locker, hanging from the coat hook. I grabbed it and ran back outside, just in time to see Chase on his skateboard, speeding towards the ramp. I grasped Rory’s arm.“He’s not even wearing a helmet!” 

We, along with a small crowd that had formed, watched as Chase barrelled down the ramp and sailed off the end. At the very last second, he grabbed the board and let gravity take hold. Surprisingly, he hit the sidewalk smoothly and skidded to a stop in front of us. He grinned proudly and the crowd cheered. I, for one, was not impressed. “I thought you were going to fly straight into traffic!”

“That jump wasn’t human,” Rory said, and his grin faltered. “About eight feet too high, I think,” she added, and Chase nodded in understanding.

I looked at Rory expectantly, waiting for her to explain, but she didn’t. That jump wasn’t human… hmm… Before I could ask her anything, the mob of boys approached, asking Chase to teach them how to get that much air. His grin reappeared immediately. 

Rory and I exchanged a look. Boys. “We’ll meet you at the crosswalk,” she told him. The two of us skirted around the growing crowd and walked down the sidewalk. If we left without Chase, we knew he’d stop what he was doing and rejoin us. He liked attention, but he liked us more. So when Chase noticed that Rory and I were leaving, he excused himself and jogged to catch up.

The three of us made it to a crosswalk with a turn signal, where we had to stop and wait for cars to pass. Nearby, there was a college student in a red hoodie, talking on her phone. What really caught my eye was her giant black dog, about waist-height. It turned to face us, and its eyes glinted yellow. Creepy. 

Chase turned to look over my shoulder, at the bank clock sign. “Wait. Is it really three twenty-two? Registration for the tournament ended at six fifteen, Eastern Standard Time. I totally forgot.” 

Rory froze, in fear or in shock. Or both. “Rory, he’s messing with you,” I said gently. 

Chase laughed. “April Fool’s!” We, as a team, had pulled a fair amount of pranks during the school day. It was actually kind of fun, breaking the rules. 

The light at the crosswalk changed. “I can’t believe I fell for that.” The three of us walked quickly across the street, and as we crossed, the huge black dog turned and sniffed at us, its ears pricked forward in concentration. Double creepy. I took one last look at the dog before we turned and walked down the hill towards the park. 

“I can. You’re taking this tournament way too seriously,” Chase said. Oh, he’s switching to teacher mode. “You’re never going to beat Hansel if you don’t loosen up. Getting all nervous is going to make you stiff. It’ll slow you down a fraction.” 

I had complete faith in my friend. When she set her mind to something, she did it. “No, Rory—you’re going to do great,” I said encouragingly. “You’ll beat him easy.” 

“I hope so.” 

The street, as always, was full of traffic. I caught the smell of cigarette smoke, which was coming from a driver who had rolled down his window to let the fumes out. I waved it away, shooting the smoker a dirty look. He didn’t notice me because he was too busy turning up his radio. “. . . a frightening case of misreporting,” said the announcer. “The incident in Portland was not an April Fool’s joke. Those children are missing. The mass kidnapping is still under investigation, and the authorities have yet to name any suspects.” Missing children?? I made a mental note to check the news when I got home. 

A few minutes later, we had made it to the park. We were surrounded by trees and tourists, but there weren’t any people on the bridge ahead. Instead, 2 large dogs, one grey, one brown, stood there. The grey one tilted its head at us, and I got a funny feeling in my gut. 

Out of nowhere, Chase flinched, which completely derailed my train of thought. “Did I just feel a raindrop?”

Rory pulled up her hood, and I opened up my umbrella. It’s good to be prepared. “I can share!” 

“We’ll just hurry,” Chase said. He was almost running now, trying to get to EAS as soon as possible. “It’s not bad yet.” 

Rory faced me. “Lena, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I saw what she was referring to. A puddle was forming right in front of us. Revenge time. 

“Yep!” The two of us ran up to it, bending our knees as if we were going to jump. Chase sprinted out of the splash zone. We didn’t jump, but his reaction was priceless. 

“April Fool’s!” Rory said. The two of us cracked up. 

“Hilarious, you guys.” Chase rolled his eyes at us and turned onto the next path. 

“Ooooo, I see,” Rory teased. “You can dish out the April Fool’s jokes, but you can’t take—” She stopped dead in her tracks. “I’ve seen those dogs before.” There were now three giant dogs blocking our path on the bridge. In unison, all three of them turned to face us, their long teeth glinting. Fudge. We had to get out of there. I tried to speak, but all I could muster was a tiny squeak. 

I ducked behind a tree, swung my backpack off my shoulder, and stuck my arm in. There were dragon scales, pencils, my water bottle, my M3, textbooks, the Bat prototype, notebooks, and… yes! The temporary transport. I was only allowed to use it in an emergency, but this definitely qualified. I peeked back around the tree. 

Chase must have come to the same realization I did. “Crap.” He reached into the front pocket of his carryall for his sword. Rory still looked unsure of the situation, but when she saw Chase draw his weapon, she decided to do the same. Then I remembered-her carryall was an older model, and it didn’t have the special front pocket for easy weapon access. Her sword could be anywhere. She was losing time. We needed all the time we could get. 

“Rory, those aren’t dogs!” I whispered. “They’re wolves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted to the spoiler board at Shelbybach.com

**Author's Note:**

> That's the end! 
> 
> I may come back sometime in the future and do some editing on this fic, but for now, I'm really happy with how it turned out.


End file.
